The Second Time 'Round
by NormanWhitesmith
Summary: (Adored By All rewrite) Luigi attempts to make himself better liked, but to disastrous results.


_Well, if any of you have read the author note from my latest story, you're probably confused right now. I'm well aware I said that I'd be finishing my other shorter stories first, but going back into writing after months of inactivity takes time and thinking about story plots and how to execute plans I had for them months ago takes time to develop so the stories I come up with are actually any good. While I'm working on that, this rewrite is something I've had on my mind awhile and I have been wanting for awhile to fix the errors the original Adored By All had. I had two options for going about fixing these various problems with the original and those options were either take each chapter and simply comb through and fix it, or I could do a true remake of the story and try to fix the errors of the original and also redo some plot. It was a fairly easy made choice and that's why this is here. After all, repaving a road is easier than paving a new road. So while the other plots are brewing in my mind, this is what you all get for now. So without further ado, people exhausted with my repetitive plot devices, and those who aren't, here's chapter one of The Second Time 'Round._

XoXoX

Chapter One- Importance

XoXoX

It was a celebration, almost like every one that preceded it in Luigi's memory. There was the loud roar of the Toad Town toads welcoming home their beloved ruler. Colorful pieces of confetti fell from the sky, dancing as the wind imbued them with life. Rejoicing over the freedom that graced their country once again, of course ignoring how often this freedom is lost before getting regained again in the span of about six hours. However, not only were the toads celebrating their monarch, they were also celebrating their hero; the one who took back the freedom for them selflessly from the tyrant. The hero who ran miles upon miles in a short span of time, seemingly tireless, just to fight Bowser and save them all from the doom that was certain if Peach wasn't saved. Mario was the ideal vision of a hero to them, always kind and willing to put up a fight against anything that the label "evil" or "unjust" could be applied to.

Luigi was at almost every single one of those celebrations. He clapped along with the toads, regardless of the fact that he was by Mario's side during the entire journey. He accepted his unimportance, dismissing it and trying to feel the happiest he could for his brother. While the man in green could usually push down the negativity he felt, this time he simply couldn't. The one difference in this celebration was that there was another person being celebrated right alongside the hero and the monarch. This time, the celebration that came after every single rescue Mario did, included a certain star sprite. Starlow, the ambassador from the star sprites to the Mushroom Kingdom, had decided to assist in the rescue of Princess Peach this time because the kidnapping happened when she was visiting. She was able to help in the smaller details of the trip, acting mainly as a scout, yet the toads decided she deserved to be celebrated and honored right by Mario's side.

Luigi tried to clap like always and did so, but the bitterness he almost always was able to push away, refused to leave. Never once did the celebration include him. There was almost no rationale for the toads excluding him from honor. With bitterness filling him, each clap felt like a hole was being ripped in his chest. Finally, the applause ended and just as quickly as the population of Toad Town gathered together, they all split apart again, swarming around as they resumed their everyday life. Pushing through the crowd, Luigi made his way to Mario, Peach, and Starlow. As soon as Luigi arrived, Mario looked at him odd.

"Where did you go, Luigi? I thought you were standing right next to me when the toads entered the town square."

Luigi chuckled sheepishly, not wanting to tell Mario that that was true, but a group of toads had pushed him behind them so they could be closer to Mario.

"Sorry… I just didn't need all that applause. After all, you know what they say about celebrations: it's better to give than to receive!"

"Luigi, that's Christmas."

"…Yes."

Mario smiled a bit at Luigi's last response. "Listen, I'm going to hang around with Peach because she's going to do a reception for me and Starlow tonight and I don't want to have to go home only to turn around and walk back to the castle, so could you please handle all the chores when you get home? The only thing that really needs to be done is cleaning all the counter surfaces, and maybe replace the cleaner because I think we're running a bit low."

Feeling a bit bummed that he was not included in yet another reception put on by the princess, Luigi nodded.

With an almost impish smile, Starlow spoke.

"Too bad Luigi can't use his tears as a cleaning solution, because then he'd never run out! Heck, everyone would start to find him useful!"

Both Mario and Peach laughed at that along with Starlow, though Luigi winced a bit. They never intended to hurt his feelings (well, he couldn't tell about Starlow because he still hadn't figured her out), though that didn't stop some of those jokes, even if they were meant in jest, to stop hurting. Like always, Luigi smiled and gave a small laugh.

"I'll take care of that, big bro," Luigi said, his fake smile never faltering.

Mario gave Luigi a quick peck on the cheek. "Then I guess I'll be off! I'll try and be home by dinner!"

The brothers said their farewells and Luigi walk off in the opposite direction of the castle, giving one final glance back at Peach. Peach was staring at Mario the entire time.

"Love is blind? More like love is blinding!" Luigi muttered to himself, kicking a small pebble on the ground.

It had always been Mario that was celebrated in Peach's private parties and receptions, never the slightly younger brother in green. The reason was always simple and clear, being the clichéd love, and while Peach could pine away after Mario, he could end up never noticing, as love wasn't his forte as much as being a romantic gentleman to any and all ladies. It would make sense that she'd throw all the parties for Mario, incidentally excluding Luigi. It also made sense that Starlow was included instead of Luigi, because the star sprite was an ambassador, therefore making her an important political ally.

Starlow. She always seemed to love tormenting Luigi. Whether it was because he had childish tendencies and habits that the poor man had never rid himself of from his childhood, like crying under stress, or if it was because he was an easier target than anybody else, he was constantly under her scrutiny. She seemed to enjoy mocking him.

Arriving at the house he lived at with Mario, Luigi exited his negative thoughts. It was a simple and humble little home that did the two men well. Constant adventures called Mario away and Luigi left less frequently, though still enough that a smaller easy to maintain space would be nice. The house was two stories tall, the top floor containing only Mario and Luigi's bedrooms, and the bottom floor had an open floor plan that had everything else from a tiny living room to a fairly respectable kitchen.

Luigi entered the house and put his hat on the peg by the door, ready to see what needed to be done. The green man almost always preferred to get the work out of the way sooner rather than later. Luckily, Mario's description of minimal was accurate and not a complete understatement as it had been some times. Aside from vacuuming and rearranging blankets so they looked nice on the couch, there were the countertops in the kitchen to wipe off and a few old pizza boxes to pick up. It was manageable. Making quick work of the blankets and pizza boxes, Luigi grabbed his trusty vacuum from the closet, a slightly less powerful version of the Poltergust that he had used to save Mario in the past. Though made by a man with questionable sanity, the Poltergust performed as it should have and soon the house was spotless except for the countertops.

Pulling out the tray of cleaning supplies from the closet, Luigi checked the bottle of counter cleaner, sighing when he realized it didn't have enough for him to even clean one of the counters. He'd have to visit the store if he wanted to finish the task of cleaning house. Without a moment of hesitation, Luigi walked back to the front door and grabbed his hat from the peg and walked out the door, locking it behind him. His wallet was still full from the spoils he collected from the recent journey, though the term spoils didn't fit exactly for the rather meager amount of coins Luigi usually found.

As the sun set, the shadows on the ground lengthened, and the tree's shadows had fingers that almost seemed to grab at Luigi. He was almost too the store, though it was still about a minute until he would see the store's sign through the trees. It was going to the store in the dark that always creeped out Luigi, making the anxiety prone man feel as though somebody was going to attack at any moment. It was only him and his footsteps. That is, until he heard a twig snap. Luigi's head whipped around and his pupils shrunk as he beheld what lay behind him. A gang of rough looking toads sat behind him, punching their fists into their other hands.

"W-what do you want?" Luigi asked, knowing from the general body language of the thugs that it wasn't going to be tea parties and balloons.

"We want your money, see. You're getting mugged, see," one toad with squinted eyes and a cigar hanging out of his mouth replied.

A different thug turned to him. "Nobody talks like that anymore, Monty! Cut the flim flam!" the thug turned his attention on Luigi. "It's simple. You're getting mugged. Now empty your pockets or face the consequences. We have other people in the woods around you, so if you don't comply or you attack, it ain't gonna end well for the likes of you, got it?"

Luigi quickly complied with the demand and emptied his pockets onto the ground in front of him. "That's all I have."

The leader of the gang walked forward and picked up a small leatherbound book from the meager pile of coins. "What's this?"

"T-that's my diar- I mean journal. No need to read it!" Luigi said in a panic.

The leader ignored Luigi and opened the diary and for what seemed like an eternity, thumbed through the pages. He sat perfectly still for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"So you're the shadow loser brother to Mario! How rich!"

"Don't call me a loser-"

The toad leader gave Luigi a stare along with a smirk. "Listen buddy, you're the very definition of a loser. Your sibling is better than you and nobody likes you or even knows your name," the toad said, tossing the diary at Luigi's feet. "In fact, you're such a loser that we're just going to let you go. You don't have much money and you're worthless."

Luigi's jaw dropped, though he couldn't get any words out from shock.

The leader toad snorted before turning around and beckoning the toads to come with him. "Come on. Let's leave this unlikeable baby to himself. Maybe he'll cry about it."

As quickly as they appeared, the toad gang was gone. In a flash, Luigi had picked everything back up and shoved it back in his pocket, unsure of what to make of what just happened. Staring at where they were standing less than thirty seconds ago, hot tears started to stream from Luigi's eyes.

"Is that all I am?" Luigi asked the trees. "Am I only a joke? A loser? Destiny's designated schlub?"

The trees had nothing to say on the matter.

Unsure of what else to do, Luigi continued on the path to the store, but with much more on his shoulders than before. Finally, the store's sign came into view and Luigi entered the doors. Another toad with sunglasses, also wearing a trench coat, suddenly jumped in front of the man in green, making him flinch. The toad opened up his trench coat, displaying coupons for the store sticking out of the pockets.

"What can I hook you up with? I have everything for a decent price. Take your pick."

Luigi stayed frozen in place, not even breathing.

"Pap-pap!" yelled another much younger toad as he ran to the shady elder. "How many times must I tell you that you don't treat customers like that?"

The older toad simply walked off, muttering to himself. The younger toad looked at Luigi.

"Sorry. My dad owns this store and when he invited Pappy to help with the store… well, Pappy was going through an interesting stage in life and still hasn't entirely accepted the fact that it's over."

Luigi realized he still hadn't breathed and took a big gulp of air, responding to the toad, but still unsure of what he should say in response to this rather random story he was given.

"O-oh. Okay."

Luigi took off from the toad as fast as he could, quite frankly just wanting to be alone, and went to the cleaning aisle, grabbing a small basket as he went. Fortunately, the cleaner the Mario brothers liked most was in stock and even on sale. Adding the cleaner to the basket, Luigi turned around, but his attention was snagged on a small display in the middle of the aisle. The display was merely a cardboard stand full of potion recipes; commonplace in a world where magic is a fact of life, much like science, but the title of one of the recipes is what caught Luigi's eye. Walking over to the display, Luigi picked up the piece of laminated paper entitled "Auntie Topkcarc's potion to ensure you're adored by all". Thoughts swarmed Luigi's mind all at once. Everything added up to suggest that the reason his life wasn't the greatest was because he was a nobody and nobody liked him. Luigi had never completely resorted to magic to try and solve his problems, but could it work just this once and change his life for the better? It was worth a try.

Luigi walked up to the front counter with the potion recipe as well as the cleaner he needed and pulled out his wallet. The toad clerk, same one from earlier, looked at the cleaner and recipe.

"Uh, I don't mean to bother you again, but I notice you got a Topkcarc recipe. They're fairly new to the store, and since you're getting one, I just thought you'd like to know that I've received a few reports that this brand in general does create working potions, but it works a bit like a monkey paw. You know, you get what you want, but in a more ironic way. Or at least, this is what I've heard. It makes sense, because all you have to do is look at Auntie's name backwards."

The toad laughed hysterically at his own joke for three seconds before stopping and looking at the total.

"That'll be thirty coins, please."

Luigi paid the toad, deciding this one in particular must be a chatterbox, and left without a word.

XoXoX

Luigi stared at the freshly made potion in front of him. It cast an erie yellow glow onto the black granite countertops of the kitchen, but Luigi didn't care. This potion might just end up being the solution he needed. Reading over the recipe one more time, Luigi deemed that even if this potion was a dud and did absolutely nothing, it wouldn't hurt him anymore than possibly tasting terrible. However, the one confusing thing about the recipe was that in the small print at the bottom it read "this potion's effects will make you especially irresistible to the elderly". Not sure whether that meant romantically or just in an affectionate way, Luigi shrugged it off. Even if it was the former, he'd just need to take extra care to avoid the old folk's home. Besides, that particular people group consisted entirely of people he could outrun if he ever needed to. Another part of the small print also stated that while looking in a reflective surface and saying the word "hopscotch", the reflection would reflect his true form.

"Hopscotch? That's a silly word, but I guess I could easily remember that. So, down the hatch now, I guess."

Hesitance overtook Luigi for a moment as he picked up the Mason jar he put the potion into. He grew up in the city of Brooklyn, a city where no magic of any kind existed (or at least it was very well hidden), and any witchcraft or potions attempting to be used were generally looked down upon. Did he really want to take the easy and taboo way out of his problems?

Deciding to not decide, Luigi put the potion in the fridge, the recipe folded up and under the jar. He could drink it tomorrow if he so pleased and decided it was the route to go. Looking at the clock, Luigi realized it was long past dinner and Mario still wasn't home. This wasn't the first time it had happened. Mario would likely be home in the morning and Luigi would have to wait until then to talk to him.

XoXoX

Luigi sat in his easy chair, eating the eggs Mario made him. Like the green man had expected, Mario came in early in the morning, clearly a bit tired, but looking pretty happy from the party. Luckily, Mario volunteered to make Luigi breakfast to make up for his absence at dinner time, letting the man in green have the morning off from his normal breakfast making duties. As the small amount of pan grease from a bite of eggs dribbled down the side of his mouth, Luigi knew he was in culinary heaven.

"Hey, bro?" Luigi asked, mouth still full.

"Yeah?"

"I know you know how to do just about everything, but I'm wondering, have you ever tried your hand at professional cooking?"

Mario rubbed his forehead. "Uhh… to be honest, I think I might have… Something about cookies if I did… but I've done so many things that if I've done professional cooking, I can't remember. It was probably obscure."

Luigi laughed at this. He had heard people talking before that Mario must have a million jobs other than being a professional hero.

"Hey little bro?" Mario's voice asked from the kitchen. "What's this?"

Luigi put down his plate before turning around and looking into the kitchen. Mario held the yellow potion and the recipe with almost a grimace on his face. In less than a second, Luigi had dashed into the kitchen and snatched the bottle from Mario.

"I-It's nothing!" Luigi stuttered, holding the bottle close to himself.

Mario read the recipe he was still holding and the grimace on his face only grew. "Y-you weren't intending to use this, were you?"

"W-well, I-"

Mario cut Luigi off with a pained look on his face. "Little bro, magic is also nicknamed the 'dark arts' for a reason! It's bad! Did you really feel so unloved that you would resort to this?"

Luigi felt his face go red and get hot with a mix of embarrassment and anxiety. "You tend to get all the love of the people and I… well, I get ignored and people don't really like me. Heck, you don't notice when I'm shoved out of the way by others because they find me unimportant."

"Well, it's not m-my fault that people don't like you," Mario said, clearly taken aghast and shocked.

Every single word felt like a punch to Luigi's face. Seeing the hurt look on his brother's face, Mario suddenly realized what he said.

"Wait, that I didn't come out right, I didn't mean it!"

The damage was already done. Luigi, looking as crestfallen as a man could, popped the top off the potion bottle.

"It's okay, Mario. Maybe this will even things out between you and me."

Luigi drank the entire potion before Mario could make an attempt to stop him and was instantly greeted by a searing pain in his gut, causing the man to double over in pain. Mario yelped before putting his hands on Luigi, wondering just what that potion did to him.

"are you okay, bro? Do you need to go to a hospital?"

"M-Mario, stop panicking. I'm fine. I just need to lay down a bit on the couch. Those potion ingredients shouldn't be harmful if the potion is a dud."

"I really wish you didn't drink that, Luigi. Magic is never the answer. I could have just… I don't know, tried to be more mindful of you if you told me how you felt instead of doing that."

Luigi felt his gut pain disappear and he straightened himself up.

"Do powerups count as relying on magic?"

Mario was relieved that it looked like Luigi wasn't in pain anymore. "Luigi, that's different and you know it."

"Just checking," Luigi said before yawning. "As odd as it sounds at nine in the morning, I still want to lie down and get just a little more sleep."

Walking over to the couch, trying to ignore Mario still staring at him with a hint of concern, Luigi sat down and leaned back, closing his eyes and going to sleep.

XoXoX

"Luigi, wake up!"

Luigi's heavy eyelids creaked open slowly. Mario's outline hovered over him.

"Just let me-" Luigi murmured, too sleepy to even finish that sentence.

"Luigi, you're shrinking! I don't know what that potion did to you, but you have to get into the car so I can get you to a hospital!"

The younger twin snapped awake. "I'm WHAT!?" Luigi yelled, his voice cracking more than normal.

Luigi tried to fling off the blanket he had on his lap, but it wouldn't budge. That was when the green-clad plumber realized he didn't have a blanket on him and that was his clothes fitting him a bit too loosely. Mario was right. Luigi shot up from his seat and rushed over to his shoes, putting them on in a hurry. Not wanting anything to stop him from getting his little (in a much more literal sense now) brother to the hospital, Mario plucked Luigi up from the ground and slung him over his shoulder, noting Luigi also felt lighter.

"W-what are you doing?" Luigi asked, a slight panic in his voice.

"I'm carrying you to the car. I'm not letting anything happen to you."

Though there was no logical explanation, Luigi felt a surge of bitterness fill him. Mario always seemed to think that he could fix everything all the time. He would show him. Squirming, Luigi got off Mario, looking at his brother with an angry glare.

"I can take care of myself, you know! Just because something is happening right now doesn't mean I need the oh so Super Mario to fix everything for me!"

Turning around, Luigi opened the door and gave Mario one last glare before running away from the house as fast as he could.

"LUIGI, WAIT!" Mario screamed after his brother.

Luigi kept running down the small path in the forest, even if his side hurt and his lungs burned. He may have been an uncredited hero, but that didn't mean he didn't run right alongside Mario and build up a resistance to pain from running. However, a sudden pain in his foot caused Luigi to come to a screeching halt. His shoe had fallen off one of his feet and his foot now sat on the ground, his sock soaking up the moisture from the forest floor. Luigi spotted his shoe only a yard away and twitched his mustache before realizing something was seriously wrong because he couldn't feel the presence of the facial hair. Grabbing his shoe, the plumber searched for something reflective so he could look at himself. Finding a small puddle, Luigi looked at himself and felt his jaw drop. His mustache was completely gone and his face was rounder and more juvenile looking.

"What have I done?" Luigi whispered in a voice that sounded like it was on the cusp of adolescence.

Luigi's gloves fell off his hands, his hands suddenly far too small to even keep them on.

"I- I must be getting younger," Luigi rationalized to himself, the warning about being 'irresistible to the elderly' suddenly making a lot more sense. "B-but how much younger am I going to get. I look like I must be-" Luigi glanced at himself again, his appearance seeming even younger than it did before, "about seven or something. I h-have to stop this. Maybe Toadsworth at the castle can help."

With this new resolve, Luigi began to run again, but it quickly became apparent that his clothes were getting far too big for him. Panting, Luigi completely stripped down, leaving all his clothes in a pile under a small boulder. He'd have to find a blanket to cover up with. His running was getting far more wearisome and weakness started to take hold of the former man. Spying a pink blanket on a clothesline as he was approaching Toad Town, Luigi snatched the fabric and wrapped himself in it to cover himself. It was a highly unusual situation, but Luigi had to try to have some level of dignity.

A sudden blurring of his vision made Luigi realize how weak he was. He had pushed his shrinking body too far for too long. Even as the castle gates came into view, Luigi felt his confidence wane as every step started to feel like a chore. He felt so small…

Luigi couldn't take it anymore and collapsed just in front of the front doors of the castle.

XoXoXo

 _And that's it! I'll admit it was a bit long, but I hope you enjoyed. As always, I want to know how I did, so please leave a review so I can work to further my writing skills and bring you, the fan of this, better stories. I realize I took some different paths from my original story plot wise and that this has an entirely different tone and atmosphere too, but again, I would love your feedback so I can improve. Special thanks to Kaitlin (you know who you are) for giving me a few ideas for this and also to Gabe and Jacob (you also know who you are, and if you don't… well, that's concerning), who were by my side as I drafted this up. It's good to be back writing again, and I really have nothing else to say other than when I pick this story up again, that there will also be more characters than the original and also the ending will be different. I hope you enjoy and since I have nothing else to say, Norm out. And never forget that you can mention your friends in an author's note on the internet so long as their first names are common!_


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